


Three Times Malcolm Lost the Soap and One Time He Didn’t Get the Chance to

by chameleonwrites



Series: A Myriad of Stars [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, Arachnophobia, BAMF Annabeth Chase, F/M, Kissing, Only it's 3+1, RIP Malcolm Pace, Soap is mentioned a lot, annabeth is fed up, athena cabin lose soap priveleges, cabin inspections
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24864169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chameleonwrites/pseuds/chameleonwrites
Summary: “So that’s why Malcolm’s been banned from using the soap in the Athena cabin,” Annabeth finished her story with a sigh as Piper continued to giggle under her breath. “Any news on your end?”The full story, now revealed.~Part of Not-So-Secretly in Love~
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: A Myriad of Stars [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1349116
Comments: 12
Kudos: 116





	Three Times Malcolm Lost the Soap and One Time He Didn’t Get the Chance to

**Author's Note:**

> Remember Annabeth telling Piper about Malcolm's ban from soap? This is how it all went down.
> 
> (If you haven't read Not-So-Secretly in Love and would like context, here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19053820 )

It had started off as just another uniform Tuesday in the Athena cabin. Their beds were made, their books stacked and all their clothes were neatly stored away in their drawers. Annabeth was on morning inspections that week and was relieved that she had no reason to mark anyone down on their performance. The Athena cabin had received a perfect five, once again.

Her other inspections didn’t go quite as perfectly- she was nearly challenged to a battle with Clarisse when she gave the Ares cabin a two, Percy attempted to seduce her in order to up his score (she allowed him to kiss her but he still only got a three), the Hephaestus cabin looked like an actual explosion had just occurred so was scoring minus points and Nico had refused to let her inside the Hades cabin (she was pretty sure she heard laughing and suspected Will was with him. Those two had been growing closer lately, she was glad to see) so he got a zero for uncooperativeness.

Still, Annabeth was in a particularly good mood, and it wasn’t just because the Athena cabin had once again escaped Dinner duty for the week. It wasn’t until she heard a rather startling scream that everything went downhill.

The second the piercing sound reached her eyes, Annabeth’s battle reflexes kicked in and she sprinted towards the sound. A girl was clearly in trouble. As she was following the source, she became quite suddenly aware that it had originated from the Athena cabin. Panic was beginning to seep into Annabeth’s veins. She hoped her sisters were okay.

“What’s going on?” Annabeth asked, running in and grabbing her Drakon bone sword which was conveniently hung by the door. “Is everyone okay?”

When she caught sight of the horrified looks on everyone’s faces, staring intently at the bathroom, Annabeth grew suspicious and cautiously rounded the corner, her sword still held high.

The sight she found inside was certainly not what she’d been fearing. If anything, it was far worse.

Malcolm Pace was stood in front of a smashed window, his face as pale as if he’d just seen a ghost. Annabeth lowered her sword. Not again.

“Dare I ask what happened this time?” Annabeth asked her brother with a raised eyebrow. Malcolm’s lip still quivering, he turned to face her.

“There was a spider on the soap,” he explained. Annabeth sighed. Her patience was wearing thin.

“Malcolm,” she addressed as calmly as possible, “this is the _third_ time you’ve thrown the soap outside this month. Don’t you think you could dispose of the soap without _smashing our bathroom window_?” 

“I panicked,” Malcolm whimpered, his voice increasing in pitch. Apparently it had been Malcolm screaming.

“Hey,” a voice said from the door. It was Katie Gardner from the Demeter cabin. “Is everything okay in here? We heard a scream.”

“Don’t worry,” one of Annabeth’s sisters replied, “there was just a spider. You know how Athena kids are with them.”

Katie seemed happy with the answer, as there was no further questioning to Annabeth’s relief.

“Okay,” Annabeth rallied her cabin together, “Malcolm, just take some time to calm yourself. I’ll go and ask the Hephaestus cabin to fix our window _again_ and I’ll ask Chiron for some more soap. No need to panic- the spider is most definitely gone, now.”

There was a murmur of relief that spread through the cabin and her siblings seemed to relax, settling back into whatever they had previously been doing. Annabeth, with increasing reluctance, once again left and headed back to the Hephaestus cabin.

When she knocked on the already open door, Nyssa greeted her.

“Hey, Annabeth, got another broken window you need fixing?” she asked with a cheeky grin.

“Actually,” Annabeth sighed, her cheeks reddening, “yes. Malcolm smashed the bathroom window with soap, again.”

Nyssa failed to stop the snort of laughter that escaped her nose.

“Geez, what is it with you Athena kids and spiders?” she huffed. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “I’m kidding,” Nyssa added, hurriedly, “but we’re not just fixing your window _again_.”

“What?” Annabeth gasped, “how else are we supposed to fix it? Do you know how many _more_ spiders we’ll get in the cabin if it isn’t sealed? Trust me- you’ll have bigger problems than a broken window if that happens.”

Annabeth’s glare was luckily getting to Nyssa.

“Okay, okay, we’ll fix it, but only for a price,” Nyssa relented. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“How many drachmas do you want?” she asked. Nyssa shook her head.

“We don’t want money. We want to swap chores. I know you gave us a minus score on the cabin inspection,” she folded her arms, a grin spreading across her face.

Annabeth groaned internally. Her siblings were going to _kill_ her for agreeing to this, but they really needed the window fixing.

“Fine!” she agreed, haughtily. Nyssa’s grin grew into a slightly sinister smirk.

* * *

Annabeth’s next task was to collect more soap from the camp shop which, in comparison to her disastrous Hephaestus cabin trip, should have been a walk in the park.

Emphasis on the ‘should’.

“We’re out of soap,” Connor Stoll shrugged when Annabeth asked. 

“Hilarious,” she rolled her eyes, “just hand me the soap or I’ll bring along the sword next time.”

Connor looked vaguely worried. Good.

“Annabeth, I’m actually not joking. We don’t get another shipment until next week according to Chiron. You’ve already used up our spare supplies the last time this happened. We really have no soap left,” he explained, still not sounding awfully sympathetic.

Annabeth glared at him for a good few minutes, hoping he’d eventually relent if she intimidated him enough. To her luck, she heard hooves whilst glaring at Connor.

“Hey, Chiron,” Connor called out first.

“Annabeth, Connor, what’s the matter?” Chiron asked, trotting over to them.

“We need soap again. Connor won’t give me any,” Annabeth stated simply.

“She won’t listen to me. Tell her we’re out of soap,” Connor sighed, his head hitting the desk in exasperation. Annabeth was starting to fear the worst.

“I’m sorry, Annabeth,” Chiron mumbled, “but we really are out of soap until next week.”

Annabeth didn’t even reply. She shot Connor another glare, for good measure, and stormed off. She only had one idea to get soap and it would leave her feeling guilty for at least a week. Maybe. Actually, she probably wouldn’t feel much remorse.

Annabeth arrived at the Poseidon cabin and leant against the doorframe casually, waiting for Percy to spot her. He was very busy taking the cap on and off Riptide, switching it avidly between a blade and a writable pen. Apparently the novelty of Annabeth’s discovery in Tartarus hadn’t worn off. She huffed a quiet laugh. It was actually kind of cute if she was being honest. Not much could have brought either of them joy whilst they were trapped in the hell that was Tartarus, so she was relieved to see that apparently this had.

Eventually, Percy caught sight of Annabeth lounging in his doorframe and his eyes lit up. It made Annabeth’s heart start beating a tiny bit faster to discover how happy he was to see her, even if she was here for selfish reasons (although, it could be argued any time she spent with Percy was selfish- she didn’t enjoy much more than she enjoyed spending time with him, much as she was loathed to admit it).

“Hey, Seaweed Brain,” she greeted with a smirk, “fancy some company that isn’t an inanimate object?”

“As much as I _hate_ to argue with you,” Percy began with a wry smile, “I’d hardly call Riptide inanimate.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. He had a point.

“Fine, I take it back. If you’d rather chat up your sword, I can take my leave,” she teased.

“No!” Percy argued, dropping Riptide and grabbing her arm, “I was only joking. Please stay.”

“I was joking, too, idiot,” Annabeth rolled her eyes, “I did come by to see you, after all.”

Percy raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to her.

“What’s the occasion?” he asked, curiously. Annabeth closed her eyes and shook her head in fake exasperation.

“What, I’m not allowed to visit my boyfriend?” she asked. Percy shrugged.

“Not if you don’t want to be yelled at- entering my cabin in broad daylight when you _know_ two campers of the opposite sex can’t be alone in a cabin together. Shameless, Miss Chase,” he shook his head, smirking confidently.

“Well, in that case,” Annabeth said, checking behind her quickly for prying eyes before grabbing Percy’s hand and dragging him into his own bathroom, “we’d better hide.”

Percy allowed him to be dragged, laughing all the while until his hands fastened around her waist, leaning her back against the stone sink. Perfect.

“Playing dangerous, Wise Girl,” he breathed out against her lips and Annabeth went dizzy for a moment. “I love it.”

And then Percy was kissing her. Annabeth fastened one hand into Percy’s hair and the other on his waist, keeping him in place in front of her. She needed to be in front of the sink.

Unfortunately, Annabeth’s plan hadn’t quite factored in the reality that her brain tended to malfunction the second Percy’s lips pressed against hers, but she was still aware enough. Just.

Percy’s teeth tugged her lower lip and Annabeth practically moaned at the notion. Okay, apparently she wasn’t as in control as she thought she was. She needed to act now.

Annabeth trailed the hand in Percy’s hair down over his chest and Percy responded eagerly to the touch, just as she’d hoped he would. With her other hand, Annabeth released Percy’s waist and reached behind her, fumbling around on the sink until, finally, her hands fastened around the soap. 

Carefully, Annabeth slid the soap forward whilst her other hand arrived at Percy’s waist. In a single smooth movement, sort of similar to fighting, Annabeth flipped their positions over, now pinning Percy against the sink, despite the fact he was taller than her.

“Hey,” Percy smirked at her, breaking the kiss at the shock of being flipped around.

“Shut up,” Annabeth complained, leaning up again.

“Gladly,” Percy muttered back and they were kissing once more. Annabeth released the soap for the time being. She’d eliminated the chance of Percy seeing it _and_ she’d brought it within grabbing reach. Now all she had to do was escape unseen.

Annabeth pushed that fear aside, for now. Whilst she had only come to steal soap, she really wasn’t complaining about their current predicament. So, it was only fair if she directed her full attention to it.

Annabeth kissed Percy until the two were breathless and honestly getting a little too hot.

“I should probably escape before someone sees me,” Annabeth pointed out as they finally broke apart.

“So soon?” Percy pouted, his lips red and swollen from their previous activities. Annabeth smirked and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Percy’s cheek, grabbing the soap as she did so and forcibly shoving it in her back pocket.

“It’s not long before lunch,” she pointed out, “and I have stable duties after that.”

Percy groaned at the fact that their schedules didn’t line up. He headed back into his cabin and Annabeth followed him, making sure to stay behind him the whole time until she was back at the door.

“You’ll come and spar with me after dinner, though, right?” Percy asked, hopefully. Annabeth rolled her eyes with a fond smile.

“Of course, Percy. I’ll see you later,” she promised, grabbing his hand and pecking his lips one last time.

“Love you,” Percy smiled when she pulled away. Annabeth’s heart fluttered at the words, just as it always did. 

“I love you, too,” Annabeth replied, walking backwards away from Percy’s door until he disappeared from view and she knew it was okay to turn around. She pulled the soap out of her back pocket victoriously.

Percy was the son of Poseidon- if he could heal cuts with nothing but water, Annabeth was fairly certain he could wash germs away with it, too. Either that or she just wouldn’t hold his hand for the next week.

Annabeth returned to her cabin and held the soap up for her siblings to see with a grin, only to be met with disappointed faces.

“What?” Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows, “do you know how difficult it was for me to get this soap?”

“Annabeth, it’s Eucalyptus,” her little brother, Adam, announced. Her heart dropped. The Athena cabin used the Aloe Vera soap. They all hated Eucalyptus.

“Right,” Annabeth breathed heavily, throwing the stolen soap on the floor, “that is _it_!”

Malcolm was sitting guiltily on his bed.

“You,” Annabeth pointed at him, “are _banned_ from using the soap in the Athena cabin until you can personally find us ten bottles of Aloe Vera soap.”

“ _What?_ ” Malcolm spluttered, “but how am I supposed to wash my hands?”

“I don’t know, Malcolm! Use hand sanitiser! Or the public bathrooms! You caused this problem, you can fix it,” Annabeth finally heaved in frustration. The other Athena kids were nodding in agreement, all looking at Malcolm in disgrace. He glanced at Annabeth guiltily.

“Sorry,” Malcolm muttered. Annabeth made a small noise of contempt and put the disgusting Eucalyptus soap in their bathroom. Whilst it was horrible, she wasn’t having all her siblings going without soap for an entire week. Malcolm would suffer alone.

And, as was only natural, no one from the Athena cabin spoke to Malcolm properly until ten Aloe Vera soaps were delivered directly to their bathroom.

* * *

“So that’s why Malcolm’s been banned from using the soap in the Athena cabin,” Annabeth finished her story with a sigh as Piper continued to giggle under her breath. “Any news on your end?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this ridiculous story. I certainly had fun writing it. I promise the next Short Story will have more actual Solangelo content, though!


End file.
